The night air was cold against Kavy Carter's skin as she hurried down the empty road. The town was quiet—too quiet. The kind of silence that made her nerves tingle, like something was watching from the shadows.
She pulled her coat tighter around herself, glancing over her shoulder. Nothing. Just the distant glow of streetlights and the faint rustling of leaves.
She hated walking home alone this late, but her shift at the diner had run over, and her car wouldn't start. The bus was long gone. She had no choice.
A chill ran down her spine.
It was the kind of feeling she couldn't explain—like a warning whispered by something unseen.
Then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
A rush of wind. A shadow moving too fast to be human.
Then—pain.
Searing, burning pain as teeth sank into her skin, locking onto her shoulder like a vice.
She gasped, the scream caught in her throat.
A deep, ragged growl rumbled behind her. The weight of a body pressed against her back, pinning her in place. The scent of pine and smoke filled her lungs.
Then, just as fast as it happened—it was over.
The pressure lifted. The presence was gone.
Kavy collapsed to the pavement, clutching her shoulder. Blood dripped between her fingers. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps.
She spun around—but no one was there.
Just the empty road.
No attacker. No footprints.
Nothing.
Except for the pain.
And the heat that had already started to spread through her veins.
—
What Happens Next?
Kavy has no idea what just happened—but her body does. The transformation has already begun.
Meanwhile, Dante Moretti watches from the shadows, cursing himself for his mistake.
He should have never been near her.
He should have never let this happen.
Because now, she's his problem.
And the longer he stays away…
The worse it's going to get.